Artificial candle



Feb; 10, 1948. j H F, WATERS 2,435,811

ARTIFI C IAL CANDLE Filed March 50, 1945 Y F162.` FIGB..v FIGA.

1N V EN TOR.

Patented Feb. 10, 1948 i6-sClaims. (Cl. 2401-10 ""Ihe; Present inventionrelates tof-ornamental illuminating .i devices and "more izvarticularlyd vto artificial 'candles of the typevvhiclr are adapted to be energized. or illuminated electrically.

"Heret'ofore various; illuminating devices 4of *this 'i' character which are' designed Lto simulate acan'dle effecthave appeared up'or'ijthe market. "These devices have 'possessed` numerous' limitations; 'the chief :one being the extrerle4 cost of manufacture thereof, requiring .astliey 'often `do specially constructedlament ,lamps lto give the desired flame effect, resistors, transformera, or both, to Iefglvllate l0eri attainthereiiilirid1 current''fiow, yor 'a special,..aid .often complicated .',System 'bf 'Wiring to ace,ommodatev a... serifes'o r agriarallel system ot lighting .or illumination units.

. Thepresent.. invention .has.. .been designed to overcome the. alcove.A notedllirnitations V`,that.arf attendant 1upon `themanufacture anduse :of such presen-hday installations. i, Toward 1this end 'the invention .contemplates 'the provision. `of a `rela..- tive1y-.. simple. and. inexpensive .-lillurnionating, unit 'which will trthe conventionalA and, staiutia'rlll electric. Vlight .socket and` which -may reafllllbe installediherein or rexncyved,therefrom.Y at `will with a minimum 0f. ease .and-'Without dsftryine or 'alterin'glv existing, wiring systems.

tion, another object" thereofisto provide such fa l unit `which`does lnot 'relyt upon .the use .fof a specia'ny constructed "element Alamp` uutv which relies for its 'illumination (upon a conventional Yand f11epl'a,'ce"able "electric" lamp or bulb which is substantially universallyiobtainable. upon uthe market. l

Anotherfobject of;y the invention `is "to provide such a devicewhiclfl is yoperable frorn the regular household lighting systemfwhether the 'sante-whe v'of the "alternatingor direct current variety,

A still'furtherobjectisito provideanilluniinating unit` designed A'tot simulatev a A candle "which lemplc'zyrsV a 'novelnandle iiameieffyect Hthatrgives Vthe general appearance of-*flame hii'lickeririgwin a vmanner commontoancrdinarywax candle when the latter encounters a draft or other"dlsturb ance.

*Anotheriobiectoffthe inventiont is to ,provide a unit "-ofvthi'scharacter in""wiiir:hv the actual illuminating "zsource, i; 'ei "fthe electric lamp bulb is insefnble infer removable from1 the -unitwithout resortingtd'the use"of"tools'or the like. vYet .another obiectoftheinventionis to providey an artificiali ea'iiiileiifect 11,1 which noteuly 'thfname'but aise the body or tneunit creanmelli invention; :not-at this rtimecnumelatedi i :stickportion feti/heitenthereof-where theame appearsff fgives .faanaturakiappearau ,zin .ithatfzit emits;,an1illuminatedftransnarenteetect just natural wax is made transparent, while-inflatie lower i, regions ;v thereof g Vthe .z 'beds' exhibits .nan opaque effect.

,Various 1otheniobieets and advantagesezol ,come more readilvapparentfas l,the natureqotitne invention is better underamd.

In the accompanying smglesheetofndraiuugs, formingA a@ lpart iofithisrspeciilcation, :ener-embelliment ottheinvention illustrated,

In-these drawings: Figure 1 is arlonsltudinal eectonal-iview-taken substantially".icentnally. ythrougheen, illuminating unit constructed in ,accordance with the` :primair `ples of: the Apresenten!Mention.

' fFigureZ Iis afsecticnalfviewtakeni substantially along the :line 2e-nf Flgulel.

'Figure l3r is a :sectionalf'view taken, ;:si1bstan ltiallyakmg the-line 3,--3` of Figure Leand 1 .Figure-4 11s a side; elevational 4v-ievmiernia-1in section. :of therlowergegions of itheiiluminatins regions thereof and into which there is adapted' `to 'be' loosely received i'the body .por-tion --I 6 :offthe improved candlesimulating-unit. viThe remainder of the adapter: is of .conventional` design and includes :theuusuaiionter zand :inner- I con ducting nshells :LIB @and :5:20 :respectively which lare felectri cally'connectedtogether as at 22 I It isfto be understood' that'v the adapter fil0=-in the present instance 'has Llseen rshown Vmerely 'for illustrative purposes x`asA a base-forfthehremainder of the illuminating'device and.L that various other forms-of -bases maybe employed. l -As such;-the

conventional llight socket wherevenitimaydoe located. -Withithe `'device/infuse with -`other `than the Vcoiglventinnal ,liglrtingsystem,l asti-o1;- lexample where it"- isused' asapartyiavor on ainanquet-q or 3 other table as a self-contained unit, a suitably modified form of base would, of course, be employed.

The previously mentioned body portion I6 is of open-ended tubular conguration and is designed to simulate the body portion of a candle. 'I'hs member is preferably formed of a ceramic or plastic material and is so constructed that for a slight distance extending downwardly from its upper edge it is transparent or'at least translucent as shown at 24. 'The remainder of the member I6 is preferably opaque and this latter portion is designated at 26.

regions merge gradually into each other with There need be no clear line of demarcation between the two por. tions 24 and 26 and it is preferred that these y the member becoming more and more opaque progressing downwardly. To attain maximum candle effect a regionof total opacity should occur approximately one-eighth of the total length of the member measured from the top thereof. I do not desire however to be limited to any specic standard for such attainment of total opacity.

As previously stated, the lower end of the tubular member I6 is open and Aseats within the annular groove I4. In order to permit of free circulation of air through the member, a series of serrations or V-shaped notches 28 are formed in the lower edge thereof.

The upper end of the member I6 is closed by means of a closure plate 30 which is formed of an opaque material and which has a central opening formed therein and in which there is adapted to be removably received the base portion or shank 34 of a flame-simulating element 36. This latter member may be transparent if desired but it is preferably semi-transparent in that it is formed of glass or other material which transmits light rays and which is colored with a yellow hue simulating the color of a candle llame. The :llame-simulating unitis formed with a rib 32 immediately above the shank 34 which seats on the uppersurface of the closure plate 30. Above the rib 32 there is formed a generally llameshaped top portion 49 formed of individual lobes 42 that diminish in size upwardly.

The closure plate 30 is formed with a series of spaced circularly arranged inclined apertures 44 `(see Figures 1 and 2) which are adapted to allow light generated within the tubular member I6 to fall upon the lower regions of the llame-simulating element 36for reflection therefrom and also for absorption thereby and subsequent refraction therefrom. Such light as enters the element 36 through -the bottom end of the shank 34 will similarly be radiated from the element by refraction.

The adapter I is adapted to removably receive within its central shell a conventional elongated illuminating lamp L of the llamentary type. A suitable wire or other element 46 frictionally engages the upper regions of the lamp'L optica1 illusory effect.

and has associated therewith an upwardly pro- 05 jecting sharpened point or pinnacle 48 upon which there loosely rests for rotational movement a light intercepting multi-vane member or turbine 50 having a series of blades or vanes 52 associated therewith. It is to be noted that the member 50 is positioned in close proximity to the underneath side of the closure plate 3E in such a manner that upon rotation thereof the blades 52 thereof will successively intercept light issuing from the lamp Land entering into or l expelled through the apertures 44.

falling upon the :dame-simulating element 36. The net elect of this interception of light intermittently is to impart a realistic effect to the member 36 which closely simulates the normal flickering of a candle flame when the same encounters a draft or other disturbance.

It will be understood that the member 50 will, when the lamp L is energized, normally tend to rotate inasmuch as the vanes or blades are so inclined that convectional air currents created within the member I6 by virtue of the heat generated by the lamp L will rise upwardly and be The apertures 44 thus serve a dual purpose, namely to permit free circulation of air through the tubular member I6, and also to properly direct light onto the ame-simulating element 36 for maximum The apertures, in combination with the notches 28 at the base of the tubular member I6, may be said to also serve a third function in that by their presence they allow heat to escape from the member and thus prevent overheating and consequent burning out of the lamp L.

It is also to be noted that light issuing from the flame-simulating element 36, both by rei-lection and by refraction, will to a certain extent be directed downwardly and toward this end to insure maximum illusory effect it is contemplated that the extreme outer peripheral regions of the closure plate 30 be made transparent or translucent as shown at 56. In this manner light which is reflected from the llame-simulating element 36 may pass through this outer peripheral region of the closure plate 30 and also through the upper portion of the tubular member 4I6 which, as previously stated is also transparent or translucent, and give the effect of the transparency of a partially melted candle top.

In addition to the above, light generated within the tubular member I6 itself will also pass oute wardly through the upper transparent or translucent region of the latter, thus augmenting 4the illusory elect of an ignited candle. y i

The invention is not to be limited to the exact ,arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawing or described in this specication as var'- ious changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. Only insofar as the invention has particularly been pointed out in the accompany'f ing claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An artificial candle comprising in combina? tion, an elongated hollow tubular member formed of light-transmitting material` adjacent its upper regions and of opaque material adjacent its lower regions, a source of light disposed within said member, a name-simulating element at the upper end of said memberrand formed of light-transf mitting material, meansdirecting light issuing from said tubular member interiorly thereof onto said flame-simulating membe for reiiection therefrom. y .-1

2. An artificial candle comprising in combina,- tion, an elongated hollow tubular member formed of light-transmitting material adjacent its upper regions and of opaque material adjacent its lower regions, a source of light disposed within said member, a flame-simulating element at the upper end of said member and formed of light-transmitting material, means directing light issuing u from the interior of said tubularmember onto and through said name-simulating element for radiation therefrom by refraction.

l 3. An artificial candle comprising in combination, an elongated hollow tubular member formed of light-transmitting material adjacent its upper regions and of opaque material adjacent its lower regions, a source of light disposed within said member, a name-simulating element at the upper end of said member and formed of light-transmitting material, means directing light issuing from the interior of said tubular member onto and through said flame-simulating member for reflection therefrom and for radiation therefrom by refraction.

4. An artificial candle comprising in combination, an elongated hollow tubular member formed of light transmitting material adjacent its upper end which gradually increases in opacity progressively downwardly, a filamentary light source disposed within said member, means for energizing said source, a flame-simulating element disposed above said member and formed of light-transmitting material, said element being exposed to rays of light issuing from said source for reflection and refraction from said element, a light intercepting turbine rotatably disposed between the source and said flame-simulating element and adapted to be rotated by convection currents generated within said chamber, means adjacent the bottom of said member for admitting air thereinto, and a perforate member disposed within said member adjacent the top thereof above said turbine.

5. An artificial candle comprising in combination, a support, an elongated hollow tubular member disposed on said support loosely and having an open lower end, said member being formed of light-transmitting.material in its upper regions and of opaque material in its lower regions, a closure for the upper end of said tubular member, there being an opening formed centrally of said closure, a flame-simulating element having a body portion and a stem portion removably received within said opening with its lower end exposed to the interior of the tubular member,

-said element being formed of light-transmitting material, a lamentary light and heat emitting source disposed within said tubular member and supported on said support, there being a series of inclined apertures in said closure for permitting heat generated within the tubular member to escape from the latter and for permitting light issuing from said source to fall upon the outer surface of said flame-simulating element, and a light-intercepting turbine rotatably mounted on said source in close proximity to said inclined apertures, said turbine being adapted to be rotated byconvection currents generated within the tubular member, there being means formed in said tubular member adjacent the bottom thereof for admitting air to the interior of the tubular member.

6. An artificial candle comprising in combination, an elongated hollow tubular member, a lamentary light source disposed within said member, means for energizing said source, a flamesimulating element at the upper end of said member and formed of light transmitting material, the extreme lower end of said element being exposed to light issuing from said source whereby light will enter said element and be emitted therefrom by refraction, a perforate closure for the upper end of said member having apertures therein through which light issuing from said source may pass and be directed onto the medial regions of said element for reflection therefrom, a light-intercepting turbine rotatably disposed between said source and ame-simulating element and adapted to be rotated by convection currents generated within the chamber by said light source, said apertures also serving to permit egress'of heated air from within said chamber, and means adjacent the bottom of said member for admitting air to the interior thereof.

HARRY F. WATERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,359,559 Hlky Oct. 3, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 668,360 France -4.--- July 9, 1929 

